At the dawn of the digital age in 1982 fairly well caught many manufacturers of guard so to speak. You see the DAD(Digital Audio Disc) which came to be known by its most popular name Compact Disc and later shorten to just CD. The CD was to be an audiophile item in many ways. The original intent was that this medium was to be recorded in real time with no compression, limiting or editing of any kind. So in essence with that in mind, the wide range dynamics of the eary CD's presented many playback problems with the gear of that day. When one got the volume up high enough to hear the lowest passages, then would come the crescendos that would cause most amps to clip and fry voice coils of most speakers.

NAD was perhaps the first to recognize this problem and started building their amps with dynamic head room to handle the demanding transients of those early CD recordings. Dynamic headroom was the buzz words of the day.

Very close on their heels was Denon when they released a string of "Real Time Audio Technology" integrated amplifiers to address the CD medium. The ensuing review will deal with one of those eary units the venerable Denon PMA 757 integrated amplifier from 1984.

If memory serves me correct there were three in this series the PMA 737, PMA 757 and the Flagship PMA 777. All of these entries were designed to handle the complexity of the Compact Disc as we knew in those early days.

The audiophile community for the most part holds integrated amplifers in disdain and for many reasons they are right to do so. Many manufacturers have exploited this design for nothing more than marketing and profit. The vast majority of integrated amps are poorly engineered, designed and the build quality to put it bluntly very cheap. Although in recent years this has changed for units from Pass Labs, Levinson,McIntosh and others, have raised the bar to lofty heights for integrated amplifiers. Certainly electrons do not know if they are traveling on one chassis or two chassis. A properly designed integrated amplifier can execute the demands of separates. On the plus side it eliminates another box to deal with or to find the synergey between an amp and preamp. The design is not flawed, just in many cases he execution of the design of the integrated amplifier is severly compromised.

To be further candid the Denon PMA 757 is a compromised integrated as well. But with that being said, the compromises made were without attendant degradation to the overall sonics of this very fine integrated amplifier.

HIGH SPEED DUAL SUPER NON·NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CIRCUIT

Dual super Non-NFB circuit clearly eliminates static distortion generated at output transistors. This techhnique reduces static distortion. to essentially zero. The signal itself is not fed back to the input, and the dynamic characteristcs of the amplifier are greatly improved. High slew rates of ±2oo V Ips, have been achieved.

WIDE FREQUENCY BAND EQUALIZING AMPLIFIER

Conventional NF and CR equalizers have been improved to produce a high quality "wide-frequency-band equalizer". Distortion caused by changes in input impedance is minimized. As a result, a 90 dB S/N ratio for MM cartridges (75 dB for MC) was achieved. Also, a RIAA curve deviation of only ±0.2 dB from 20 Hz to 100 kHz has been attained.

COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF CAPACITORS FROM SIGNAL PATH

Direct DC survo circuitry completely eliminates large-capacity coupling capacitors. These capacitors badly degrade signal quality from signal path. As a result of the new circuitry, the music source can be clearly and accurately reproduced.

A HEAVY DUTY POWER SUPPLY

The PMA-757's high capability, stable power supply section consists of a high performance oversized torodial power transformer and a large capacity block capacitor to achieve superb regulation and S/N ratio.

PROTECTION CIRCUIT FOR SAFETY

If an unexpected problem occurs, such as speaker terminal short or generation of direct current in the output, the protection circuit functions simultaneously. This prevents speaker and amplifier damage. A muting circuit is also provided in order to eliminate noise generated at power "on-off".

POWERFUL DRIVING CAPABILITY

The heavy duty power supply can provide adequate power to drive speakers with a low 4 ohm impedance. Output performance is impressive:

100 WRMS per channel from 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Also dynamic headroom of 3.0 dB is assured.

ELEGANT DESIGN

The DENON design is not only elegant, but also functionally efficient. Due consideration to internal structure and careful selection of parts prevent system components from deteriorating.

OTHER FEATURES

• DAD terminal

• High speed protection circuitry without deterioration of sound quality

As you can see the PMA 757 was designed without the faults of the past and to address the then digital age. Plus the build quality was very high indeed when compared with units from other manufacturers. For this period of time Denon raised the bar very high in design and execution of the PMA 757.

The phono section of the PMA 757 is very good indeed, but when paired with a Denon Moving Coil phono cartridge moves this into the range of superlative. The MM section seems to work best with Grado MI phono cartridges. The other phono cartridges that were used seemed somewhat lacking in the overall tone and signature as compared with the Denon MC and Grado MI.

The line stage is truly one of the strengths of the PMA 757 and in particular the DAD (CD) section. The Denon really comes to life with CD playback and it appears great attention and detail was paid to this circuit. Very few integrated amps or for that matter preamps of damn near any price have the sonic signature of the Denon PMA 757 in CD play back. Very wide soundstage, with great presence and a layering in of the music, that you just have to experience for yourself. And as jaded as I am now some 54 years in this hobby, I was blown away by the CD performance of the PMA 757. I kid you not I have several high end preamps here and none of them have CD playback like this. Many of those high end units clearly best the PMA 757 in analog playback and that is a given. I clearly acknowledge that. But in CD playback this venerable PMA 757 is a total eye opener.

Functionaly it has the look and feel of a more costly unit. The fit and finish is first rate. The controls have that solid silky feel. The function controls when engaged have a lighted indicator that is easy to read from across the room. Came in two finishes Silver or Black. This one is the black finish and is luxurious in its appearance.

Since the inception of Denon in 1910 they have always produced superlative products that have been the benchmark in the category they compete with. Sure over that span they have had a few clunkers, but very few indeed. While not always first to market, when they do appear, it is first rate all the way and well worth the wait.

The PMA 757 is just one of those products that was worth the wait. While this unit is some 27 years in age, it is remarkable in its ability to be able to compete with some of the finest integrated amplifiers in the market palce today. Retail in 1984 was $450.00 and today adjusting for inflation would sell for $959.95. Now in the preowned market sell for $200.00 or less and is an outright steal at those used prices. If looking to put together a second system or to introduce budding audiophiles the PMA 757 will not disappoint. I am impressed way beyond my jaded expectations.

very interesting review--it's good to see you address a product from the "forgotton era" of audio. there's a general conception that these 80s components were markedly worse than the beautiful, silver-faced stuff of the late 70s. certainly aesthetics and build quality declined generally, and some once-venerable brands stopped making quality gear. however, in fact some 80s amps and receivers (most notably form kyocera, hk and yamaha) not only outperform the classic 70s stuff but still compares favorably to modern gear. anyway, thanks for the good reading.

Your review of the Denon PMA-757 is sensational. While I have not heard your particular model, I do own the Denon PMA-1080R. My opinions of the 1080R parallel what you say about the 757. Very detailed with CD's and fast. Maybe not the same build quality but every bit as musical, based on your description of the 757.

Join completely with this review! I have this amp now for about a year or so and have a lot of different amplifiers used over the last 20 years. I bought this Denon by accident in my local audiostore after searching for another amp. They said: Its an old one but give it a change at home.

So I combined this Denon 757 with my modern Cocktail Audio X40 streamer / DAC / CD Player. The speakers are the Swans Diva 4.2F. Suprisingly this setup is playing so well. The sound in my cae is so good that i do not need something else anymore! and that means quite a lot in my case. ;-)

This Denon 757 sounds really special to me. The sound is totally in balance and there is an open 3D / transparent sound character. The bass have some really good rhythm and give the music a natural color and good foundation. Never thought thatthis old amp was so much better sounding than all of my previous (new) amps included someones expensive.